Daniel 7.28

Shalom!

This is your brother Israel Leonard with the word of God for you!

To watch in video, click here:

https://www.facebook.com/israel.leonard.9026/videos/vb.100006939845128/1868786856695958/?type=2&theater&notif_t=video_processed&notif_id=1494757107266129

Let me introduce it with the next-to-last verse of the Bible:

"He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
"Amen. Come, Lord Jesus."

Now, that's a promise!

JESUS IS COMING SOON!

What does it mean to you?

Before taking the last verse of the seventh chapter in the book of Daniel, which we've been talking about, let's put it in our context, because even when we don't live in Babylonia in the sixth century BC, the word of God which came to Daniel twenty six centuries ago is alive, and as pertinent to us as it was for the prophet.

The main reason for Daniel's prophecy to be pertinent to us all is that he spoke about Jesus. We have mentioned before a litmus test in prophecy we can find in Deuteronomy 18:22:

"If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed"

When we read Daniel's prophecies and compare them with that which we know has happened, then we can find their fulfilment in history. And it is an amazingly accurate fulfilment:

Nebuchadnezzar's madness for seven years (chapter 4)
Belshazzar's dead and Babylon's fall (chapter 5)
Babylonia's fall before Persia (chapters 2, 7, 8)
Persia's fall before Greece (chapters 2, 7, 8, 11)
Greece would be divided after Alexander's death (chapters 8, 11)
Two of the Greek kingdoms should fight each other for two centuries (chapter 11)
A Greek ruler should try to erase Israel (chapters 8, 11)
Greece should fall before Rome (chapters 2, 7)
The Messiah should die circa 30 AD (chapter 9)

The prophecies we are wating for:

The last Roman ruler shall try to erase Israel (chapters 7, 11)
That last ruler shall be defeated by the Messiah (chapters 2, 7, 11-12)
The Kingdom of God shall be brought by the Messiah (chapters 2, 7, 12)

The prophecy to Belshazzar was fulfilled that same day. Nebuchadnezzar's madness came a year later, and Babylon's fall some years later but still in Daniel's life. The prophet did not live long enough to see the fulfilment of most of his prophecies, but we know that Persia fell before Alexander the Great, that Alexander's kingdom was divided, and that the Seleucids fought the Ptolemaic Egypt for the control of Syria and Israel. We know also about the evil ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes who was defeated in the Maccabean Revolt, we know that Rome conquered the Greek kingdoms and Israel, and we know Our Lord Jesus died on a cross circa 30 AD.

What could this knowledge mean to us?

I can remember an incident when I was a kid, and I entered the bathroom whereas my father was shaving. He had only a towel around his hips, and he was a rather hairy man (I was a kind of Jacob, but he was more as an Esau) I was surprised that he had hair in his chest, belly and legs, and told him, "Wow! you have a lot of hair!" He smiled and told me, "when you become adult, you'll have this hair, too". Then I answered, "That's great! Shall you buy it for me?".

The reason that I remember this anecdote is that it is an illustration of my childish faith. I had toys, books, clothes, shoes and everything else because my parents bought them for me. So, if I should have hair in my legs and chest, it would be the same thing, right?

Of course, we know that it is not the way it works. But we trust our parent's promises because we know other promises have been fulfilled, or we distrust them because we can remember they usually appeased us with empty promises.

Our Heavenly Father has promised many things that would happen, and they did happen indeed. All of those prophecies are a strong reason for us to believe that the other ones will also take place. Because there are no "empty promises" in Him.

The last Rome is rising. The fig tree Our Lord Jesus talked about in Matthew 24:32 and which means Israel is almost complete. The gospel has been preached all around the world. The signs of the last times about the return of Jesus are occurring before our very eyes. All these signs are not only the proof that the Second Coming is about to take place, but that the millennial prophetic interpretation is the right one. If you're not yet acquainted with this interpretation, read or watch the videos in this blog under the titles Daniel 7:7-8, Daniel 7:11-12 and Daniel 7:13-14.

Why is it so important to know that?

Let me ask you a question, do you prefer to live in wishful thinking, and be destroyed because you don't know the truth, or to live in the truth right now?

The truth can be brutal. It was for Daniel, and it can be for us, too. But there are some things we can learn form the prophet, who kept his faith and received five more chapters to his book with more detailed prophecies about the initial outline of this chapter seven, and even some new ones.

In Daniel 7:28 we read:

"This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself"

The original Aramaic text sounds like this:

"Ad ka sofá di miletá. Aná Daniel sagí rayonáy yebahalunnáni, veziváy yistanón aláy, umiletá belibí nitrét"

"To myself" is the translation of Aramaic "belibí", literally "in my heart". The KJV and the ASV keep the literal translation from Aramaic, "I kept the matter in my heart".

"Kept to myself" could mean, "I'll tell no one about this. I'm not sure, and it is kind of terrifying thing". But it is not the idea of the original Aramaic text. The heart means the site of our will and our conscience. To keep (fr. Aramaic "netár", which means "to preserve", "maintain", "hold") something in our heart is not exactly to hide it from others. It means to preserve it and maintain it. Even when the question was highly disturbing for Daniel, he kept on reading it, praying about it, writing all revelations God gave him about it... and that's why he didn't quit on his prophetical office and we have twelve chapters in Daniel, not seven.

We can see Daniel's integrity as a prophet in every chapter of his book (except chapter three, which is not about him) He prophesied for pagan kings who could send him to death, he was sent to the lion's den for keeping on observing his devotionals, and even when his visions were appalling and terrifying, even when they caused him to faint or left him worn out and exhausted for days, he kept praying, writing his visions in this book and prophesying for kings. All of these events happened in times of two powerful empires (Babylonia and Persia) which controlled most of the territory we now call Middle East including Israel, and that utterly tested the hope of the Jews. It is no coincidence that Daniel was deeply troubled by his thoughts, and his face turned pale. Somehow he understood that many years - perhaps centuries - should pass before his country's restoration. And that he wouldn't live enough to see it. Besides, it was not exactly comforting to know that a future ruler should persecute and kill Jews before the Messiah's coming.

The times we are living in are far more terrifying than Daniel's. The huge Persian Empire and the Hellenistic Greece which began with Alexander have passed away. But the "terrifying beast" is rising before our own eyes, and in spite of the people's will - which is expected to be the source of power in democracies - it has a life of his own, the satanical power which is acting to form the European superstate (kingdom of the Antichrist) That satanical power is working through the nations, perpetuating the same pathetic situation which has extremely polarized politics in the former cradle of democracy. And Satan is deceiving people so that instead of seeking new ways, they shall hang on to the same wrong formula which is killing their freedom.

This message is being written on may 14, sixty nine years after the proclamation of the State of Israel. That proclamation of may 14, 1948, was not accepted for Israel's vicious enemies, who launched a terrible attack of five armies against the newborn Jewish state. But God gave Israel victory on that war, and on every war since then. Because they believe their country is God's gift to the Jewish people, and God hasn't abandoned them. That's why Satan's weapon is to criminalize as "fascist" or "nazi" the idea that the UK is God's gift to the British people, France is God's gift to the French people or Germany God's gift to the German people - let alone the idea that there is a God from Whom all good things come, including your country with its civilization, its laws and its sovereignty. And Satan is succeding, because the formation of the fourth beast, as prophesied by Daniel and the apostle John, will be permitted by God before the coming of the Messiah, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus' Second Coming is our hope that justice will abide in our world, that peace will exist in our world, that all evils which come from sin will end - as the very source of them, sin, will be erased, and its instigator, Satan, will be sent to the lake of fire for ever and ever.

The prophet Daniel kept his faith by "keeping in his heart" God's prophecies. In John's book of Revelation we find seven letters to the churches, where the resurrected Christ speaks to them with a strongly prophetic message which resounds today with the same power. Observe the Lord's command in these verses:

Revelation 2:24-25

"I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come."

Revelation 3:3

"Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent"

Revelation 3:11

"Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown"

To "hold on to" or "hold fast" the Word of God with its life-giving communication from our Heavenly Father is the key. If you want to know why is Satan succeeding in the creation of the fourth beast, read the letter to the last church, Laodicea, in Revelation three, which is the perfect depiction of the terrain where Satan shall build his last evil empire on earth. The commandment of the Lord to that worldly church is this:

"I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see". "Be earnest and repent"

They were confident in mundane means and not in the Lord's provision. They didn't keep in their hearts the Word, so the Lord counsels them to "buy" from Him all the things we need for a godly life, the knowledge of him who called us, and his very great and precious promises, which make it possible that we may participate in the divine nature.

I don't know the condition of your relation with Jesus Christ. I don't know if you're spiritually death, or if you have forgotten your first love, or if you're worshipping idols or worshipping riches like Laodicea. What I do know is that this world is doing those things, and it's going to perdition, because they don't hear the Word of God and repent. There is only one thing you can do to reverse that curse: to receive the Word of God, receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior and walk with Him. There is power in Jesus, there is salvation in Jesus, there is forgiveness in Jesus, there is eternal love in Jesus, there is eternal joy in Jesus, there is eternal life in Jesus.

If you don't know how to pray to Him, just say with me:

Thank You Jesus, for your sacrifice in the cross that takes away my sin.
Thank You Jesus, for your Word which is my source of comfort and hope.
Thank You Jesus, for You care for me, for my family, for my country.

Forgive me, oh Lord!
Forgive my sins, forgive my arrogance, forgive my lack of love.
Come to my life, be my Lord, be my Savior.
All I am I surrender to You.
Lead me, teach me, use me to be your instrument to reach others.
Give me faith, give me love, give me hope while I'm waiting for you to come.

I wan't to belong to my Father God.
In Jesus Holy Name I pray.

AMEN